Luis Diaz scored an early goal as Liverpool held on to book their place in the club's 14th League Cup final after a 1-1 draw with Fulham in the semi-final second leg at Craven Cottage on Wednesday .
The nine-time League Cup winners beat Fulham 3-2 on aggregate and will face Chelsea in the final at Wembley on February 25, in a repeat of the 2022 final which Liverpool won on penalties .
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“It's fantastic,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told Sky Sports. “We've had the experience before, we know what to expect. Once again, Chelsea, what a story. I told the boys, never take it for granted if you're part of a team that can qualify for trophies.
“What the boys did tonight was exceptional,” he added. “This was the full cup experience. The open match, the second half started a little wilder. We didn't score. They got the tie. But the boys did very well and I'm very happy.
“The only thing that counts in the end is that we're done.”
Diaz scored in the 11th minute when he chested a high ball into the box before cutting inside and firing a shot that deflected before trickling into the near corner.
“We wanted to make sure we did things well, Fulham played at home with a good atmosphere,” Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk told Sky. “We had to be prepared to fight, we started the game very well and scored a good goal. We found a way to get to Wembley.”
Issa Diop injected some life into the Fulham fans when he equalized in the 76th minute, kneeing a pinpoint pass from former Liverpool player Harry Wilson.
Fulham continued to press until the final whistle in some nerve-wracking minutes for Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are also still in the FA Cup and Europa League competitions.
“This was not the night to shine, it was the night to qualify for a final,” Klopp said.
They are expected to be without their talisman and league top scorer Mohamed Salah for three to four weeks after suffering a hamstring injury with Egypt in the African Cup of Nations.
After a methodical first half, the pace quickened and both teams missed opportunities, including a frenetic few seconds of action in which Fulham's Andreas Pereira hit the post and then Harvey Elliott on the break fired straight at goalkeeper Bernd Leno Liverpool.
Darwin Núñez had a great chance when he evaded a Fulham defender, but fired the ball just wide of the post, raising his hands in disbelief.
Both teams will now turn their attention to their FA Cup fourth round matches, with Liverpool playing Norwich City on Sunday, while Fulham host Newcastle United on Saturday.
